Moments
by xsilver-galaxyx
Summary: Moments in a friendship and a relationship that could have been.
1. Comfort

_Written for challenge #002 on the LJ community more_doomed_

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They all found their way back to the Summers' home that night, but they didn't talk, or even stay together. Xander slowly climbed the stairs and found Buffy in her room, sitting on the bed staring blankly out the window.

He crouched in front of her and took her hands. He opened his mouth to speak, but the only words that came to mind were cliché. They weren't going to help Buffy.

Instead he sat on the bed next to her and pulled her into his arms. At first she didn't resist, but Xander could feel the tension in her body. But then she wrapped her arms around his waist and it seemed like she was holding on for dear life.


	2. Love

Buffy woke when Xander turned over and slung an arm over her waist, pulling her closer to him in his sleep.

This relationship continued to amaze her. Maybe because they had such a strong friendship to base it on, but no man had ever allowed her to so truly be herself.

There had been no hesitation, no guilt, no niggling doubt at the back of her mind that maybe she wasn't "girly" enough to be in a relationship.

Instead there was laughter, trust, a feeling of contentment that she had never felt before and an unwavering belief that this was what love was supposed to be.


	3. Soulmate

Nothing existed outside this room. Their minds, their bodies, their souls were complete in sync. Each had found their perfect mate. Hands glided over skin as lips whispered against each other.

They were completely at peace. The only sounds in the room were the rustling of sheets, soft sighs and barely audible admissions of love.

Each kiss was like oxygen, each touch like water, absolutely essential for their continued survival. Once they had discovered what they could have, each one knew they would die without the other. Their first kiss had revealed that they were made to be together, they were the perfect blending of souls.


	4. Bliss

The first time he'd seen it, it turned him into a blathering idiot. "Can I have you?" It still made him cringe that those were the first words he ever said to her.

Even though he was a bit more suave these days, when he saw her smile, inside he was still jumping around like a fool.

He recognised that all the clichés applied, her smile was like the sun, it was able to light up a room. But when it was a genuine smile of happiness, and especially when it was directed at him, this feeling of absolute bliss and contentment came over him and he hoped that he would never lose it.


	5. Friendship

"Hey handsome. All dressed up and no one to dance with?" Buffy found Xander sitting at one of the tables around the edge of the gym "What happened to Anya?"

Xander looked up and smiled "She's cornered Giles and Wesley and is regaling them with tales her vengeance days. I can't tell whether they're really fascinated or really scared. It may be a bit of both!"

"Anyway" he said standing and taking her hands to lead her to the dance floor "I think I should get at least one dance with the class protector"

"You know" Xander said as he attempted to spin Buffy "These are the moments from high school that I actually want to remember"

"What, the ones where no one is trying to kill us?" Buffy quipped.

"No, although that is a plus. I meant the moments with you, just hanging and having fun"

Buffy just smiled and attempted to spin again.


	6. Lonely

She spoke to people every day, but no one every talked to her. Nobody could see beyond her name badge and apron.

Lying in bed at night, she tried to pinpoint the exact moment that had set her on this path. But she couldn't find it. Instead she found moments that could have taken her off this path, away from the heartache and loneliness that 'true love' had given her. And she kept coming back to the moment in the school courtyard, where Xander had in his own clumsy way, offered her a life in the light, where she would never be alone.


	7. Jealousy

As she twisted and writhed her way around the dance floor, around him, he couldn't help but feel, in the very farthest reaches of his mind, that he hated her for this. He could feel the heat emanating from her body and every now and then he though he could hear her pulse over the music and he had never been drawn to anyone so strongly in his life. The thought of what this represented, and what it could mean for them, he could barely stand the intensity of where his mind was taking him. But he knew this wasn't for his benefit.


	8. Tears

They sat by the window in one of the rooms that Giles had yet to find a purpose for and the slayerettes hadn't started using as a dumping ground for all their stuff.

Curled up on the couch, hands intertwined, they silently watched the storm raging outside, battering the normally calm gardens where they trained, the thunder making the glass cabinets shake.

Every now and then a bolt of lightening would illuminate the room and they would lose sight of the raindrops rolling down the panes of glass like tears. By the time they heard the thunder, they could see the tears again.


	9. Fear

The vending machines. When did vending machines start accepting notes?

The graffitied lockers. She remember how her locker had looked after Ethan's chocolate.

The art room. Had she packed the childhood drawings?

The principal's office. They almost silently let go of Willow.

She didn't want to let go of his hand. At that moment with the knowledge that he was there, she felt that they would make it.

But then it was his exit. And the horrible reality came crashing down. They weren't all going to make it. Some of the people who walked into the school, wouldn't walk out, and it might be one of them.


	10. Fight

Xander waited behind the headstone, stake in his hand, ready to jump up. In between mercilessly punching them, Buffy was verbally baiting the two meathead vampires who thought that they were about to become legends by killing the slayer.

As Buffy pushed one of the vamps over Xander's headstone, he decided it was as good a time as any to join the fight. He took advantage of the dazed vampire lying on the grass nearby and gave him a few good kicks, to make sure he stayed down.

"Hey Xander" He turned to find Buffy was pretty much done with the other vamp, so he tossed her his stake and watched as she quickly dispatched him and threw the stake back to him. Giving the vampire at his feet one last kick for good measure, he neatly staked it.


End file.
